The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it urgently needs an estimated $80 million to respond to humanitarian needs in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in the Gaza Strip and to implement emergency planning in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan through 2023.
WHO stated Friday that it would expand the scope of emergency and trauma services, maintain access to health services, treat chronic conditions and develop measures to monitor diseases and combat their spread, especially in displacement sites.
It added that air strikes and shortages of medical supplies, food, water and fuel in the besieged Gaza Strip have exhausted the health system, which is already suffering from a lack of resources.
WHO added that hospitals are operating far beyond their capacity due to the high numbers of patients and displaced civilians seeking shelter, and the provision of health services, from care for mothers and newborns to the treatment of chronic conditions, has been seriously jeopardised.
The statement noted that the Israeli war against Gaza and hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territories resulted in heavy civilian casualties; thousands were killed or injured, and more than 1.4 million people were displaced.
There were 171 attacks on healthcare facilities in the occupied Palestinian territories, which led to the death of 493 people and the injury of 387 others, as 56 attacks affected health facilities and 130 attacks on health workers as of October 24.
WHO said the health system, which is on the verge of collapse, and the diminishing access to health services, clean water, food and fuel and the weak healthcare system threaten the loss of civilian lives, adding that the mass exodus to shelters that lack sufficient resources would lead to a disease outbreak.
Source: Jordan News Agency